The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (6052) Private Ernest James Ewen, 24th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (6052) Private Ernest James Ewen, 24th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, First World War.

6052 Private Ernest James Ewen, 24th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF
KIA: 3 May 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Ernest James Ewen.

Ernest James Ewen was born in 1892 in the Sydney suburb of Newtown, the son of William and Florence Ewen. The Ewen family moved north of Sydney Harbour, to Greenwich, when Ernest was a child. He grew up here, attended school in Crows Nest, and after leaving school became a storeman and packer in Greenwich.

Ernest Ewen enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in September 1916. He undertook a brief period of training before embarking on the transport ship Argyllshire at the end of October. In January 1917, he disembarked at Plymouth and travelled to the army camps on Salisbury Plain to continue his training. At the end of March, he sailed to France and the fighting on the Western Front. Towards the end of April, he joined the 24th Battalion.

Earlier in the year, German forces had conducted a strategic withdrawal to a strongly-held position known as the Hindenburg Line. Before Ewen arrived in France, Australian units had been involved in a failed assault on the occupied French village of Bullecourt, north-east of Amiens. In May, allied commanders again sought to capture the village.

The second attack on Bullecourt began on 3 May 1917 and ran for two weeks. While the 24th Battalion was only involved in the fighting on the opening day, it suffered almost 80 per cent casualties. Among the dead was Ernest Ewen. He was 24 years old, and had been with his unit in France for less than a month.

His remains were never found, and he was initially recorded as missing. Within a month of the battle, however, it was determined that he had been killed in action. Today, his name is recorded on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, alongside more than 10,000 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave.
Private Ernest James Ewen is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Ernest James Ewen, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Thomas Rogers
Historian, Military History Section